Pokémon Journeys Saga
by Luke Mason
Summary: Alana is looking for answers. Nev is scared of the world. They both will find the Pokémon world can change anyone. Takes place in a mixture between the anime, manga, and games.
1. Chapter 1: The Beast of the North Wind

**ALANA**

"Any second now…" I said.

We kept peering from within the bush until the time had come. According to my contact, the legendary beast of the North Wind would be showing up at the Lake of Rage in just three… two… one…

There it was. The mighty Suicune, a brilliant azure form with flowing violet clouds upon its back and a unique crest upon its forehead. It ran upon the waters of the lake, the water glowing beneath its feet and glistening wherever it stood.

"Alright, let's go," I said. I emerged from the bush, and picked a small sphere off of my bag. It grew to the size of a baseball in my hand and I tossed it straight at Suicune. The Pokéball opened and a surprised Suicune converted into bright red energy before entering the ball. The ball sealed shut, and then shook a grand total of once before shattering and sinking into the water. Suicune emerged and looked at me.

"Great," I said, looking at my partner. "So, Picasso, now that we've got its attention, use Mean Look!"

"Smeargle!" Picasso whipped its tail in front of himself, painting in the sky an image of the great yellow eye that makes fleeing nigh impossible.

By this point, Suicune realized it wouldn't be getting out of this. It roared loudly and shot a massive burst of water at Picasso. A Hydro Pump.

"This is our chance. Get out of the way and use Spore!"

Picasso painted a new image in the air, this one a blanket of dust that immediately started to spray toward Suicune. The dust sank over Suicune's face. Its eyes started to close slightly, reopen, and close again. Spore was a sleep-inducer, and the most accurate one known to man. I wasn't taking chances.

Despite its struggles to stay awake, Suicune closed its eyes reluctantly and collapsed into the water.

"We did it!" I exclaimed incredulously.

"Smear-gle!" Picasso agreed.

"Okay, everyone, let's finish this up," I said. I tossed five Pokéballs into the air and watched as the rest of my teammates emerged. "Suicune's asleep. Now we can take it in without a problem."

The others – Meg, Sir X, Herb, Dawn, and Olivia – got beneath Suicune to help Picasso and I carry it. We lifted the sleeping beast, pausing occasionally so that Picasso and Sir X could use sleep-inducing moves to keep it going. I smiled as we kept moving toward our destination.


	2. Chapter 2: Where's Professor Birch?

**NEV**

"You sure you have everything?" Ma asked. "Plenty of food and water? And did you get the Potion I left in your room?"

"I… I think so." I opened my bag and pulled the potion out. "Yeah. I… I think I'm ready."

Ma had talked to Professor Birch shortly after we moved here. He had an extra Pokédex and was willing to give it to me so I could start my own journey. He'd also gotten three Pokémon eggs from Route 117 and went to the trouble of getting them to hatch so that I, and the other two rookie trainers, could have a starter.

I walked over to the Littleroot Pokémon lab, which thankfully wasn't too far away. When I entered, a man with light brown hair wearing glasses and a white coat looked at me. "Oh, are you one of this year's new trainers?"

I nodded slowly. "N-Nev Williams. Is Professor Birch here?"

The man tilted his head to the side. "He's out right now, in Route 101, gathering data. He'll be back any time though. No need to worry."

"Th-thanks."

I stepped outside of the lab and looked out north, where Route 101 was located. Over the horizon was where Professor Birch was. Once I saw him coming, then it would be time.

I finally saw a figure emerging and running toward me. But it soon became clear that it wasn't Birch, but rather a girl. I'd seen her a couple times, and I was pretty sure her name was Melinoe or Yessenia or something weird like that.

"Help," she whimpered. "I heard some weird noises just that way. I think someone's in trouble. I want to help but I don't have any Pokémon of my own…"

"Someone up north is in trouble?" the man in the lab asked. "It might be Professor Birch. Thank you for telling us this, Sara." Guess I was wrong. "I'll go. You both stay here and wait for me."

There was a loud explosion from inside the lab. The man looked back at a gauge, the needle on which was veering slowly into a bright red section. "Er… never mind. Nev, can you go and see if Birch needs help?

"M-me?" I stammered. "I- I guess." I went north until I reached the border, marked by trees, between Littleroot Town and Route 101. Then I took a step further, into the wild.

Route 101. I've seen it up close only a couple times but never actually been on the route. I'd always been told that it was full of dangerous wild Pokémon. That was enough to keep me in Littleroot.

Now here I was, looking and listening for a hint of Professor Birch. And then I saw him running, a wild Pokémon chasing after him. A Zigzagoon.

Birch saw me and called over. "Hey, Nev! This Zigzagoon caught me by surprise and I can't distract it long enough to get my bag. There's a few Pokéballs in there. Can you get one out and use the Pokémon inside to battle the Zigzagoon?"

"Me? Battle?" But Birch had stopped listening and was just trying to get away.

"O-okay," I said. I took a Pokéball from Birch's bag and tossed it into the air. It opened and a small Pokémon emerged.


	3. Chapter 3: Return to the Warehouse

**ALANA**

We continued walking with the sleeping Suicune. I looked out through the wood to see something I wish I hadn't. Cail was standing there.

Cail was a street-style battler, a native of Orre whom I'd met a while back. If he saw me, it would definitely be a battle. And I couldn't battle and keep Suicune asleep at the same time.

"Olivia," I whispered. "There's Cail. Any chance you can make sure he doesn't see us?"

"Spinda!" Olivia confirmed. She crept closer to where Cail stood and started moving her hands. A psychic wave of energy came from her arms and landed at Cail's head.

"Great," I said. "Now let's go."

My team and I ran past Cail until we were a safe distance from him. By the time Meg, the slowest of us, was out of Cail's range, Olivia left and rejoined us.

"Klef," Dawn told me.

"Yeah, it _was_ close," I agreed. "We're not too far now."

We kept moving until we got to the warehouse. Dawn opened the door so we could all step inside the room, empty except for a single table. We put the sleeping Suicune down on the table then let out a held breath. We'd gotten Suicune here. The first step was complete.

"Excellent work, Alana," a voice said. I was surprised but tried not to let it show. "The Beast of the North Wind, the legendary Suicune. It appears that not only was my information on its location correct, but so was my hunch that you would be effective at capturing it. But… you didn't use a Pokéball."

"Pokéballs may be effective at restraining a Pokémon but they have a built in register," I pointed out. "If a Pokéball successfully caught Suicune, it would have registered it as a member of my team. Since I already have six Pokémon with me, Suicune would have gone all the way to Bill's system. Plus the League would know I was Suicune's trainer, and we don't want that."

"You've thought this through, little Alana," he continued, impressed. "But have you thought on how to proceed with our goal now that you have Suicune?"

"I'm using Suicune as bait in the hopes of drawing in the real legend. The golden phoenix of the sun. Ho-oh. But, since Suicune might not be enough, the current objective is to find and acquire Ho-oh's other servants from the Burnt Tower. The Volcanic Beast Entei and the Legend of Thunder, Raikou."

"Good. Ho-oh has strong bonds with those three beasts. But I think you know some more ways to get a reaction from it…"

"Lugia," I said immediately. "Suicune, Entei, and Raikou may be Ho-oh's servants and companions ever since Ho-oh resurrected them from the charred remains of the tower but Lugia has always been Ho-oh's equal and friend. The tower itself, what's left of it at least, can also get Ho-oh's notice." I squinted. "You're not suggesting…?"

"That you go to Shamouti to acquire the legendary birds, exchange them for the silver dragon of the moon, Lugia, then bring Lugia, Suicune, and, if you can get them, Entei and Raikou, to Ho-oh's tower in order to get Ho-oh right where you want it?"

I shook my head. "No way. I know what happened when Lawrence III tried that. I'm not capturing the birds from Shamouti."

He stepped in front of me and held his hands up in submission. "Fine. Don't get Lugia. Risk losing your chance at acquiring Ho-oh and finding out what _really_ happened all those years ago."

I clenched my teeth. "I hate you."

"Dear Alana, I know you don't mean that." His voice dripped with mock pain. "Why, if you hated me, I would have to bring something… or someone… to make your entire goal infinitely harder to accomplish."

I knew where he was going. "You wouldn't dare."

"Would I?" He opened the door. "Welcome, Cail."

He stepped into the shadows and vanished, leaving me alone with Cail.

"Alana Moore, long time, no see," Cail said. "How's about a battle?"


	4. Chapter 4: Alana Versus Cail

**ALANA**

"Any way I could just, you know, _not_ battle right now?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Nope," Cail said. "Gardevoir, Granbull, I choose you!" He tossed a pair of Pokéballs into the air. Two fairy-types emerged, a slender somewhat humanoid psychic and a big pink canine with massive pink teeth that finely protruded from its mouth.

"Double battle, huh?" I asked. "Guess you can take the rogue out of Pyrite but you can't take the Pyrite out of the rogue. Dawn, Sir X, let's go!"

My own fairy-type, Dawn, flew in front of Cail's Pokémon and started jingling her keys in what was probably supposed to be menacing. Sir X followed and floated just beside her.

"Gardevoir, use Fire Punch, and Granbull, use Shadow Ball!" Those were actually really smart moves. I grabbed Sir X's Pokéball and quickly recalled him. Gardevoir's Fire Punch still collided with Dawn, however.

"Herb, looks like this is your time. Let's go! Use Surf. And Dawn, use Mirror Shot!"

Herb scooted into the battlefield and stared intensely at it. "Biiiii-baaaaarel!" Then he unleashed a barrage of water from who knows where that blasted onto Gardevoir, Granbull, and Dawn.

Dawn fired a mirror shot at Cail's Gardevoir. Gardevoir collapsed to the ground. Cail recalled it and took out a third Pokéball. "Oh, yeah? Let's see how you handle this! Go, Shiftry!"

"A Shiftry? Really? I know it resists Herb's Surf attack, but still. Okay, Dawn, come back. Picasso, let's do this! Use Spore on Granbull!"

Picasso painted the same pictures that he'd made at the Lake of Rage. Too late, I remembered that Picasso didn't actually have battle moves right now, since I'd replaced them with moves like Mean Look for the sake of getting Suicune. Spore, at least, would be useful.

Granbull struggled to stay awake before collapsing. Herb proceeded to Tackle the sleeping Granbull multiple times.

Cail took a Pokéball out and recalled Granbull. "You did great. Now, come on out, Houndoom!"

A Houndoom? Yeah, there was no way I was sending Sir X back into this battle.

Okay, so both of Cail's Pokémon were dark-types, which gave them weaknesses to fighting, fairy, and bug. The only fairy-type I had with me was Dawn, but there was no way she'd last long considering the damage she'd taken from the Fire Punch and the Surf. My sole bug-type was Sir X, who _did_ know Fury Cutter but couldn't take a hit from either of Cail's Pokémon. Why didn't I take a little time to teach Picasso Follow Me just in case I needed Sir X's help in a battle? That just left fighting-type, and the only fighting-type move any of the Pokémon with me knew were Meg's Counter and Olivia's Focus Punch. I couldn't bring in Olivia; I needed her Hypnosis to keep Suicune asleep. So…

"Herb, use Waterfall on Houndoom. Picasso, use Spore on Shiftry."

"Shiftry, Sunny Day! Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

The ceiling of the warehouse filled with light, almost as if the sun was shining right through it. Houndoom and Herb both formed their attacks, a burst of flame from Houndoom aimed at Picasso and powered by the light, a downpour of water that Herb released from the sky until it landed on Houndoom. Picasso painted one last Spore to put Shiftry to sleep before the fire took him down.

"You were great," I said as I recalled Picasso. Cail said the same thing while recalling Houndoom. "Now, come on out Meg!"

"Wobb-buh!" Meg exclaimed as she entered the battlefield.

"A Wobbuffet, huh?" Cail groaned. "I know the deal with them. They're just counter-attackers, so a Pokémon's always safe if they don't attack it. But… Mirror Coat is a psychic-type move, and Shiftry's immune to those. So if I just use special attacks on your Wobbuffet you have no defense. Shiftry, Solar Beam!"

Shiftry released a blast of the sun's energy at Meg. Exactly what I figured he'd do.

"You say I have no defense if you use special attacks?" I repeated. "What you don't know is that I've had Meg since she was a Wynaut. And that has certain benefits. Meg, use Encore." Meg emitted a psychic wave, enveloping Shiftry.

"Now you're stuck using Solar Beam repeatedly. So, while you're doing that, time for my defense. Herb, come back." Herb returned to me and I sent out Sir X. Alright, Sir X, that Shiftry won't be able to use its Shadow Ball or Aerial Ace for a while. So, use Fury Cutter!"

"Shed… inja…" Sir X muttered. It struck Shiftry with the Fury Cutter move repeatedly. Being grass-type _and_ dark-type meant it had a pretty severe weakness to bug-type attacks.

Cail recalled his Shiftry. "You win this time. But I will beat you next time."

He left the building and I relaxed. "Fine," I told my informant. "I'll see what I can do with Lugia and the other beasts. Just first let me get Dawn, Herb, and Picasso to a Pokémon center. And no more of that Tauros with sending trainers here.


	5. Chapter 5: The Three Starters

**NEV**

A smooth blue quadruped emerged from the Pokéball. "Mudkip, mud!"

"A M-Mudkip," I said. I tried to think. What could a Mudkip do? "Um… u-use Tackle."

"Mudkip!" it exclaimed. Mudkip jumped toward the Zigzagoon and landed with a lot of force.

The Zigzagoon took a break from chasing Birch to look at Mudkip and me. It growled at us and I flinched a little.

"M-Mudkip, use Tackle again!" I said. Mudkip repeated the move and tackled the Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon jumped itself and tackled Mudkip. But I noticed it was moving more slowly than before, and breathed heavily. We were actually doing damage.

"One more T-Tackle ought to d-do it," I told Mudkip.

"Muuudkip!" Mudkip tackled the Zigzagoon a third time. Zigzagoon collapsed to the ground, no longer able to continue fighting.

Birch picked up his bag and looked at us. "Thank you, both of you. Now that that's all settled, let's get back to the lab."

Birch, Mudkip, and I walked back into Littleroot, toward the lab. Two girls were standing at the front entrance, waiting for us.

"Kelli, May, nice to see you both here," Birch said. "This boy here is Nev. Nev, this is my daughter Kelli and her friend May. It looks like all three of the rookies will be getting their first Pokémon at the same time."

"I can't wait," May said with a look of sheer excitement on her face. She was pretty tall, brunette, wearing all red. "I've been ready for this for so long."

"Nice to meet you, Nev," Kelli said softly. She was the smallest of the three of us, and I could definitely see a lot of Birch's features in her.

The five of us stepped inside the lab, where we were greeted by the man I'd seen earlier. Birch took the two remaining Pokéballs from his bag and tossed them into the air. A green lizard and an orange bird emerged as they opened. Mudkip stepped forward to join them.

"This is Torchic, the fire-type starter, Mudkip, the water-type starter, and Treecko, the grass-type starter. You may each have one, so choose wisely."

May pulled Kelli and I in. "We've got to decide among ourselves. I really want Torchic. Do either of you want it?"

Kelli looked down. "They all look really nice. I'd love to be friends with any of them. How about you, Nev?"

"Um, I already b-battled with Mudkip, a-and I think we get along p-pretty well, so…"

"Then I'll get Treecko," Kelli said brightly. "Perfect!"

"Alright," May told Birch. "We've decided. I want Torchic, Kelli wants Treecko, and Nev wants Mudkip."

"Sounds good," Birch smiled. He recalled the three of them back into their Pokéballs and handed them to us. "Now… Um, where's May?"

"Sh-she just ran off…" I said.

"That's May," Kelli said. "She was so excited about starting her journey that she just left so quickly."

"I was supposed to give her a Pokédex," Birch said. "Here, you two take these Pokédexes and go. If you see May, can you bring her back here to get hers?"

"Of course," Kelli said.

Kelli and I left the lab and looked out. Neither of us could see May anywhere. "Sh-she's pretty fast," I noted.

"Yeah," Kelli agreed. "Well, we should go north. May's probably going to Petalburg City so she can challenge the gym there. The fastest way there is through Oldale Town."

"You m-mean we have to go through R-Route 101?" I didn't like that idea. The Zigzagoon was tough enough and who knew what other powerful wild Pokémon would be there.

"Yes," Kelli answered. She tossed her Pokéball into the air. "Ping-Pong, I choose you!" Kelli's Treecko came out of the Pokéball and looked at her.

"Ping-Pong?" I asked.

"It's a nickname," she explained. "Cute, right?"

"I- I guess." I tossed my own Pokéball so Mudkip could come out. "I'll c-call you… V-Victoria. Right now we're g-going back into Route 101. W-we're looking for May and T-Torchic. Ready?"

Victoria, Kelli, Ping-Pong, and I walked through Route 101. It was pretty clear of trainers and Ping-Pong quickly took out any wild Pokémon – mostly Poochyena – that attacked us with his Pound attack.

When we arrived in Oldale, I looked expectantly at Kelli. She knew her way around better than I did.

"Petalburg is just west of here," she told me. "Once we pass the Pokémon Center we'll be at Route 102, which leads straight there."

"I'm afraid not," a man said as he walked toward us. "There are some footprints all over the border of Route 102. I believe they are from an ancient Pokémon no longer part of this world. That area is temporarily closed off until all the necessary data can be gleaned from the prints."

"I-If we can't g-get through because of the footprints, th-then that means May c-couldn't either," I told Kelli.

Kelli put a finger to her lip. "Maybe she went north to Route 103 to take the long way around."

"H-how did she even get so f-far?" I wondered. Then I remembered that she was running in the hopes of getting to Petalburg quickly.

"May!" Kelli called out. It was softer than May's normal voice and barely louder than mine, but it was easily the loudest I'd ever heard from Kelli.

May stepped out of a building with a blue roof. "Oh, Kelli, Nev. Hi. I was just going to Route 103 to get to Petalburg –"

"There's s-something you've got to do before you g-go to Petalburg," I told her.

"You want a battle, don't you?" May asked. Before I could correct her, she tossed a Pokéball into the air. "Alright, let's go, Ernie! I choose you!"

**A/N**

Well, here's a good time to put in some notes. First of all, reviews are always welcome. Secondly, here's an overview of the protagonist's Pokémon that we've met so far.

Alana's Pokémon are Picasso the Smeargle, Olivia the Spinda, Sir X the Shedinja, Herb the Bibarel, Dawn the Klefki, and Meg the Wobbuffet. Picasso was named after the famed cubism artist Pablo Picasso, which was based on Smeargle's design as a painter. Olivia was sort of named after the Jenny Nimmo character Olivia Vertigo, by virtue of Spinda's apparent inherent dizziness (vertigo). Sir X has a complicated story with its name. Just ignore that for now. Herb was named for the American President Herbert Hoover. Bibarel is a beaver, which builds dams. Hoover. Enough said. Dawn was named for Dawn Summers of _Buffy_ fame. The show had Dawn designated as "the Key", so what better name for a Klefki? Lastly, Meg was named after Meg Griffin, primarily because Wobbuffet physically resembles Meg's main role on the show: a punching bag.

Nev's first Pokémon is Victoria the Mudkip. While Victoria may seem like a random name, she was actually named for the real-world location Lake Victoria, where lungfish can be found in the wild. Future Pokémon either acquires will get more information later. Kelli's Treecko, Ping-Pong, was named for the _Xiaolin Chronicles_ character, a dragon of wood who starts out as the protagonist's "little gecko". Lastly, May's Torchic Ernie was, like Meg, named for a _Family Guy_ character, Ernie the Giant Chicken.

Now, as you may have figured out, this story takes place in a world that is a mix between the anime, the manga, and the games. The remainder of the story, bear in mind that it will not necessarily follow the same order as any of those mediums; Kelli's existence is proof that I'm willing to add major pieces that were not in any of them. Also, sorry about Nev's stutter. He's had it his whole life.


	6. Chapter 6: Battling May

**NEV**

"B-but I didn't want t-to battle you!" I protested.

"Shame," May said with a grin. "You're lucky your first battle's against a friend. Out in the world, the rule is that any time two trainers lock eyes for the first time, they must battle. No forfeits, no running away. You could even say I'm going easy on you. Ready, Ernie?"

"_Tor_-chic!" Ernie exclaimed.

I turned to Kelli. "Is there any ch-chance of getting out of this?"

Kelli shook her head. "You could forfeit," she whispered. "But then May would just consider you unworthy of her time, then leave without letting us talk to her. Really, you have to win."

I swallowed. "Okay. Victoria, y-you ready?"

"Mud," Victoria confirmed.

Ernie and Victoria both stepped toward each other. Kelli looked at both combatants and said, "Let the battle begin."

"Ernie, use Growl!" May commanded effortlessly.

"Victoria, T-Tackle!"

Ernie ran forward and formed a high pitched sound from his beak. Victoria shuddered a little but still landed a hit on Ernie.

"That d-didn't do as much as i-it did on the Zigzagoon," I noticed.

"Ernie is tougher than a Route 101 wild Pokémon," Kelli explained. "His defenses are naturally stronger. Also, the move he just used, Growl, is one that weakens an opponent's physical attacks."

"And made Ernie the strongest attacker on the field," May said. "That's why Growl works best as the first move of the battle. It lets Ernie get more full-power hits in while you're still weakened. So now, use Scratch!"

Ernie raised his claws, which started to glow white, and brought them down on Victoria. She went down instantly. Victoria lay on the ground, struggling just to look up at Ernie.

"Victoria's in trouble," Kelli told me. "It looks like on the way here May battled a lot of wild Pokémon and made Ernie much more powerful."

"It's n-not over," I said. "Ernie's not the o-only one with Growl. Victoria, use G-Growl!"

Victoria unleashed a Growl attack identical to the one Ernie had given. Ernie hit Victoria with another Scratch.

"Your Growl did just save Victoria there, I'll give you that much," May said. "But it was too little too late. She won't be able to stand up to a third one."

"Victoria," I said, already aware that I was out of options. "Use Tackle ag-again."

Despite the damage, Victoria got up and charged at Ernie before striking him with another Tackle. This one struck with a flash that knocked Ernie over.

"A critical hit," Kelli whispered. "Getting lucky enough to hit a weak spot, doing twice as much damage and completely unaffected by Growl." By this point, Ping-Pong was looking at the battle with intrigue.

"So we st-still do have a chance," I said. "Victoria, one more T-Tackle!"

"Ernie, Scratch!"

Ernie's talons collided with Victoria before she could hit him. Victoria collapsed to the ground, too tired to continue battling.

"V-Victoria!" I ran over and picked the little Mudkip up. "Are you okay?"

"Mud Mudkip," she said.

"Looks like I win," May declared. "So now to…"

"I challenge you," Kelli interrupted quietly.

"I just beat Nev and was about to go heal Ernie at the Pokémon Center," May pointed out.

"We've never battled before and I just locked eyes with you," Kelli said. "You beat Nev, but you didn't beat me."

Ping-Pong stepped forward and looked at Ernie. "Tree."

"Guess you're right," May admitted. "But I've been training Ernie like a champ. You won't win that easily."

"Ping-Pong, use Pound." Ping-Pong leaped at an unprepared Ernie and struck him with his forearm. Ernie collapsed to the ground. "Ernie's unable to battle. Ping-Pong wins."

"What?" I sputtered. "But Ernie was so p-powerful against Victoria…"

Kelli nodded. "But Victoria's Growls and Tackles did their damage. Ernie was tough enough to take on Victoria, but not Victoria _and_ Ping-Pong."

"Guess you win," May said reluctantly. "Let's get Ernie and Victoria to the Oldale Pokémon Center to heal them up."

Kelli and I nodded in agreement. "While we're there, there's s-something we need to talk to y-you about."

May and I recalled Ernie and Victoria back into their Pokéballs. Then the four of us walked to Oldale's Pokémon Center.

"Hello," a woman said from inside. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center. I'm Nurse Joy. Do you have any Pokémon who are in need of healing?"

"My Torchic and his Mudkip," May told her. We handed our Pokéballs to Nurse Joy, who took them in back.

"So, what did you need to talk about?" May asked.

"You l-left Professor Birch's lab in a h-hurry," I told her.

"He was supposed to give you Pokéballs and a Pokédex but you left before he could," Kelli added. "He sent us to come get you so you could go back and pick them up."

May laughed at herself. "Whoops. My bad. Once Ernie and Victoria are ready to go, we can head back to the lab. Sorry."

On that note, we remained seated and waited.

**Author's Note**

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. My computer is not the best and it has a tendency to shut down mid-chapter. I'll try to write more often and get them in faster. Until then, reviews!


	7. Chapter 7: There Is Another

**ALANA**

Of course he'd disappeared. At least last time he hadn't left until _after_ he told me where and when I could find Suicune. To find the other beasts, and the birds, and get them all to the tower would be seriously difficult.

Or it would be… if there weren't another option. Everyone knew the legends of Ho-oh resurrecting the beasts, as well as its close friendship with Lugia, but there was another who held the favor of the rainbow phoenix. A human.

I smiled at the idea of having thought of something that even he hadn't. Now the only real question was what to do about Suicune.

"Olivia, can you stay here and keep Suicune asleep?" I asked. "When I'm at the Pokémon Center I'll pick up Uriah to help out."

"Spinda spinda!" Olivia accepted.

I took out the five Pokéballs for Dawn, Herb, Picasso, Meg, and Sir X. I recalled each of them individually, then left the warehouse, leaving Olivia and Suicune behind.

I picked up speed and jogged at a steady pace straight south until I reached Mahogany Town. Nurse Joy greeted me when I entered the town's Pokémon Center.

"Hello, nice to see you again," she said with the same smile I'd grown used to. "How can we be of assistance?"

I handed four Pokéballs to her. "My Klefki, Bibarel, and Smeargle got pretty hurt in a battle. Also, I'd like to use the PC to make an exchange."

Nurse Joy took Dawn, Herb, and Picasso. "There's an open box over there. Feel free to exchange your Pokémon there."

"Thank you," I said. I walked over to the box and inserted my Pokédex into the slot. The computer read my identification and pulled up a set of options. I clicked the one I wanted and waited for Professor Oak's face to appear on the screen.

"Hmmm?" he asked. "Ah, Alana. It's been a while," Oak said. "What do you need?"

I placed the fourth Pokéball on the transporter. "Can I get Uriah back? I can exchange him with Sir X." Considering the sheer number of fire-types I expected to see in the near future, I really couldn't risk it with Sir X.

"Certainly," Oak said with a smile. "For obvious reasons, research on Shedinja is pretty hard to make. Plus I'm sure Shino would be happy to see Sir X again."

"Thank you." Sir X's Pokéball vanished from the transporter. In its place was a new Pokéball. I took it from the machine, removed my Pokédex from the box, and tossed the Pokéball into the air. "Uriah, I choose you!"

Uriah emerged. "Kadabra!" he bellowed in his typical grandiose fashion.

"Uriah, you remember the warehouse over by the Lake of Rage?" Uriah nodded. "Olivia's there with Suicune, the Beast of the North Wind. Can you Teleport there and get them both to me in the Kanto region?"

"Kadabra… _Ka-dab_ra!" Uriah gloated. He rose into the air, flexing the iron spoon in his hand, and vanished… along with myself. Instead of the Pokémon Center, we were now in a dark room surrounded by grey stone.

"This is Mt. Moon," I realized. "You got us all the way here. This is good, real good. If we're already in Kanto, can you get us south by southwest and then get Olivia and Suicune?"

"Da-bra!" Uriah transported us again, to the familiar scenery of Route 1.

"Thank you," I said to Uriah. Uriah nodded and Teleported away. I started walking some more to get to my real destination.

As I walked, a voice in my head began speaking. "_You cannot just ask for the human's help. You will have to defeat him in a battle if you want his assistance. And you know that your Pokémon will not stand a chance against his._"

The voice in my head, whoever it was, was right. This trainer was tough enough to make Cail look like a rookie who still thought evaporation meant that fire beat water. But I couldn't let that slow me down. I _had _to think of a way to win.

**Author's Notes**

Two more of Alana's Pokémon have been introduced. Uriah the Kadabra was named after the magician Uri Gellar, from whom the Abra line was inspired. Shino, meanwhile, is a Ninjask, and Sir X's (for lack of a better word) twin. The name Shino is derived from the Naruto character who, like a Ninjask, is a very fast bug ninja.


End file.
